


Good Bad Days

by catnip



Category: Power Rangers
Genre: Alternate Universe, First Meetings, Gen, Sharing an umbrella
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-16
Updated: 2020-02-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:55:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22758877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catnip/pseuds/catnip
Summary: Tommy Oliver didn't wake up lucky that morning. But maybe something good can still come out of it all.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Good Bad Days

Tommy wasn’t up exceptionally early because he wanted to be. The night had been long and frustrating and restless; yet far too short. At the first bright bits of sun peaking through his blinds, he’d decided to call more sleep a lost cause and got out of bed.

Dragging his feet to dress and shower, he tried to console himself with one thing - being up this early meant he had time to go out and splurge on some proper caffeine before his first class that morning. Maybe even a muffin. Maybe two.

Tossing his bag in the passenger seat of his car and himself behind the wheel, he popped the key into the ignition, thoughts of blueberry vs cinnamon vs chocolate chip occupying his mind.

The car sputtered for a moment. Then, nothing.

It didn’t take long for him to spot the problem once he popped the hood. It was thankfully nothing major. Wasn’t anything he couldn’t fix himself… if he had a whole afternoon to do it, that is. 

“Fuck,” he spat to himself, kicking the side of a wheel with his boot.

It felt too early to call any of his friends and beg for a ride. No doubt some of them were up - but still. Sitting down on the sidewalk curb for a minute to think, only one other option came to mind that might help salvage his plans.

It took him several minutes of frantic digging through drawers back inside, but eventually, he found an old bus schedule. He crossed his fingers and hoped it was still accurate. With his bag on his back he started the trek to the nearest stop. He was lucky; one with a route to the campus was only 15 or so minutes away from his complex. He’d used it a time or two since moving, but had never made it into a habit. 

He’d had a pleasant, quiet, 5 minute walk in the fresh morning air before the first rumblings of thunder started. An early spring shower on the horizon. One he didn’t know about, because he hadn’t bothered to check the Weather Channel, because why would he? He had a nice, safe, dry car.

“Fuck!” he cursed again as the first drops of water started to come down, _plop plop plop_ against his skull.

It wasn’t a downpour, which was a small mercy. Only a slow but steady fall, feeling almost more mist than anything at times. But by the time he made it to the bus stop he was already a mess. Two other people already waiting - standing on the sidewalk with umbrellas in hand, because of course this bus stop had no shelter - gave him looks that felt both pitying and exceptionally judgemental.

He blew at a wet, stray streak of hair that stubbornly stayed plastered to his cheek and ignored them.

He would have checked his watch, but he’d managed to forget it.

But the time passed, a few more people crowding around the metal sign for the stop, trying not to bump their umbrellas together; most of them sending him similar long looks as he tried to stay to the back of the group. He had half resigned himself to not even being allowed on the bus because he was too sopping wet, and that felt like the kind of thing that would happen on a day like today, when a voice caught his attention.

“Um.” He looked beside him to see a guy, seeming to be his age, clutching a black umbrella. And tilting it slightly in his direction. “Do you… want to share?” 

He sounded unsure, like maybe Tommy was going to chew him out for asking. But he at least wasn’t looking at him like he was a complete idiot. If anything, he looked concerned.

“Uh, sure, yeah man. If you don’t mind.”

“No problem.”

The guy shuffled closer, his arm bumping against Tommy’s for a moment as he tried to position them both under the umbrella. It wasn’t really the type that was big enough for sharing, and he had to raise it up just a little to match Tommy’s height. But damn did it instantly feel good to not be in the rain anymore.

“Thanks. You’re a lifesaver.”

The guy smiled a little, brushing a strand of blissfully dry, and a little curly, hair behind his ear. “I wouldn’t go that far. But you’re welcome. Uh, which bus are you waiting for?”

“C, I think?”

“Oh, cool. Me too.”

Silence settled between them then, and Tommy found it uncomfortable. No, not exactly that - but being in such close quarters, and the guy being so nice, it felt a little wrong to just ignore him.

Clearing his throat to catch his new rain pal's attention again, Tommy explained, hoping to maybe look a little less foolish to at least one person. “My car wouldn't start this morning, so this is the first time I've taken the bus in months. Forgot to check the weather…"

"Wow, that sucks," and unlike most people who said that the dude sounded like he meant it. "It isn't supposed to rain all day, at least? Just a little this morning."

"Well, I got that goin' for me then."

An arm brushed against his again as the other man shifted his weight; his skin was warm, and it was an unwanted reminder of how wet and cold Tommy had gotten. He couldn't suppress a little shiver.

"Damn, this sucks," he muttered to himself.

"Here, hold this a second," and Tommy took the handle that was shoved toward him, careful to keep them still under cover. He watched as the guy swung the gym bag hanging on his shoulder around and unzipped it. He dug around for a moment, eventually pulling out a fluffy, white towel. "It's clean, promise," was all he said as he offered it to Tommy with another smile.

"You sure? Don't you need this?" Tommy asked, assuming that he must have been getting on the bus to go work out or something. 

"You need it more," the guy tossed back with a small chuckle in his words. The joking light-hearted instead of derisive.

"Yeah," Tommy agreed with a smirk, "can't argue with that."

After a quick trade the umbrella was back with its owner, and Tommy was happily squeezing the water out of his hair and wiping down his arms. He almost knocked the other guy in the face a time or two despite trying to be mindful, but he was nice enough to laugh it off and make a joke about having quick reflexes. 

"Hey," Tommy spoke up as he handed the towel back after drying off as best he could. It seemed sort of rude to return it like that, but offering to wash it or something seemed even weirder. "Thanks again. I mean it."

The guy ducked his head, face now hidden instead behind a curtain of hair as he stuffed the towel back into the bag. "It's cool. I'd hope someone would do the same for me, you know?"

"Yeah, for sure." Tommy glanced down the road. In the distance he could see the bus. "Uh, my name is Tommy, by the way."

The guy took the hand he held out, giving it a shake. He still felt too cold and clammy against the heat there. "I'm Adam."

"Nice to meet you, Adam."

"Yeah. Likewise."

The bus parked, and slowly everyone climbed aboard, each passenger taking a moment to shake their umbrellas off before boarding. The guy - Adam gestured for Tommy to get on first before doing the same. And the two of them managed to score the last two open seats in the back. Nice.

Tommy settled back into his seat, his pants still feeling too wet to be comfortable. But the bus was warm, and he was finally on his way. He watched the world go by through the window as the minutes past, and -

"Shit," he breathed out through a clenched jaw. But it had still been too loud, Adam turning his head to look at him.

"Something wrong?"

Tommy closed his eyes with a sigh. "I think I'm on the wrong bus."

Somehow, the small laugh of disbelief Adam let out made him feel just a little bit better.

**Author's Note:**

> i forced myself to reign in my imagination and stick to my original idea for this story, which was pure and simple friendly umbrella sharing, instead of things spiraling into a much longer fic i was less likely to finish haha. but you can certainly assume that adam in all his kindness offers to help tommy get to his proper destination :) as always you can find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/trashbrain) or [tumblr](https://depmode.tumblr.com/) if you want to say hi or talk PR!


End file.
